Micro-tutorial: Upload multiple files to Resources

We’ve shown how to upload/download multiple resources using WebDAV before (Recall “Map a Drive for Windows & Mac”), but there is another way to quickly upload multiple files to your Sakai site. Here’s how in three easy steps.(Click on an image to enlarge it in a new window.)

Step 1: Go to Resources > Add > “Upload files”

Step 2:  “Add Another File”

Step 3: “Upload Files Now”

Note: You can also opt to notify your site members by email that there are new files in the site.

You can try this for yourself using Resources in your My Workspace area.

That’s all there is to it!

Micro-tutorial: Copy & Paste Files Across Sakai Sites

One of the benefits of Sakai is that it allows you to upload a file once and easily move it within or across your sites.

Whether you are a student, faculty or staff member, this tip is useful and simple. Take a minute (literally) to find out how!

We tip our hats to the Carolina Digital Story Lab for inspiring us to embed this tutorial in a hypothetical mini-story. You can learn more about this innovative student group @ http://www.uncstorylab.org/.

September Tip: Manage Your Site Tabs

Many of you are members of several Sakai sites and therefore, a little housekeeping is in order.  You can set your Preferences in your My Workspace area.  See the images below and try it yourself! 

• If you have more than 4 sites, your newest sites are probably listed in the “More” drop-down menu.  (Click to enlarge images.)

• You can move sites to the top tabs and remove sites from your view (although they will be available in the “More” menu).

If you have more questions, submit a help request and we’ll do our best to answer them quickly.

Using Sakai to Serve Up Your Course Web Sites

We have creative faculty who like developing web pages for courses. Sometimes course pages are publicly accessible while others are password-protected. For years, faculty have used the Course Web Space Tool to do this. Unfortunately, the tool is being retired but we are pleased to offer Sakai as an alternative.

• See an example of a BIOLOGY 101 course web site that is publicly available to you but hosted on a Sakai site.  (At the bottom of this post, you can see the actual URL — it’s long!)

Here’s a 1-minute “big picture” overview of what’s involved.

The videos below, demonstrate how you can use Sakai as a way to serve up your own course web pages.

There are a few considerations:

• You have your web site files stored in a single folder
• You don’t mind having students log into Sakai -or- have a long URL (see below)
• You are fearless with a can-do attitude (We salute you!)

See our playlist of short videos each about 1 minute in length. Wow! Six minutes of free professional development!

As promised, here is the URL containing our sample BIOL 101 course site:

• https://sakaipilot.unc.edu/access/content/group/52b150c8-6e07-4112-9b8b-645b4867df92/public/BIOL 101/index.html

If you are faculty who used to use the Course Web Space Tool, we’re here to help you make the transition! Simply call 962-HELP or open a Help Request for “Sakai Support.”

Advanced tutorials:

• Taking it to the next level (learn to hide menu items, create a TinyURL, view as a student, and create a class listserv!)
• Making changes (decide where the “canonical source” of your web site files will reside and then drag and drop as appropriate; edit your HTML pages as you normally would!)

Try this trick to simplify your menu

No 4^th of July weekend is complete without picnics, water parks, family fun, and some quality time spent with your computer! When you have a moment, try this very simple, quick trick to streamline your menu.

We comprehend and learn better when information is “chunked.” (See Brain Rule #4: Can You Read This)

The video below shows how you can create a simpler, organized menu. We call this trick the Fake Divider Tool.

But wait, there’s more! You will also learn how to change your course site view from Instructor to Student - and - you’ll use Page Order to reorganize the menu and hide items as appropriate.

All of this 4^th of July fun in only 2 minutes! Enjoy your holiday weekend!